Tuesday, August 31, 2010

I (Marty) had opportunity to travel this summer. It is always interesting to read and become aware of how Americans and America is perceived in other places. It is important, I think, to hear and discern what others say about who we are - not just as Americans, but as people. If we are truly going to advance the good for the all, we must discern who we are and how we are perceived - so that we can work to better advance hospitable and charitable relationships with persons we know - and larger people groups and nations, with whom we interact.

As can be imagined, Americans are perceived well - and not so well - in places in the world. I will not try to explain or justify the myriad issues involved in this blog entry.

Rather, I want to note that I am *now* back in Oklahoma - doing the tasks that come with my work, working with students, being with persons in faith-communities, and advocating for a better world.

I get opportunity in a few days to be back in Washington D.C. where I have appointments with the 2 Senators from Oklahoma and with my Congresswoman.

I am excited too - that right now I get the opportunity to introduce efforts toward eupan with new students who become the "new generation" of advocates who work for good! I just returned from an afternoon meeting - where a student (who is not in my classes) was talking about "not being a bystander" because his Psychology professor, Dr. Noel J. Jacobs, was talking about issues of advocacy and peace-making in his class on Contemporary Social Issues!

What a delight to be with young persons who can change and shape our world!

What a delight to work with other persons on college campuses, in faith communities, in cities, that are working toward positive change in our world.

I hope with other pastors that the arc of history bends toward justice!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. As I said to you personally, I know Senator Inhofe has long-standing vested commitments to what has been happening in Africa. When you and I met on March 29th, our key conversation was with regard to issues in Sudan - specifically with concerns for the possible outbreak of violence surrounding April elections.

Senator Inhofe is a key leader in setting a pattern for effective policy and legislation in Congress. His leadership is key on the Senate Foreign Relations committee and his timely support of this resolution will set an example for other members of congress.

As an Oklahoman who is concerned with how the United States works to effect peace in the world, I encourage Senator Inhofe to set an example for the Congress - and for the World - in supporting this legislation now.

While I can only speak for myself in this personal email, I personally know many Oklahomans associated with the Eupan Global Initiative and Oklahoma STAND (Student Anti-Genocide Coalition) chapters on various high-school and colleges campuses in Oklahoma. I will be inviting them to raise their voice on this issue - seeking Senator Inhofe's proactive leadership on this resolution, now.

I am CCing several key leaders in Oklahoma who share advocacy interests on this issue.

Thank you, Brian.

I look forward to meeting with either or both of your colleagues in D.C. in September - Joel Starr and/or Sarah Klotz. I have emailed Sarah about this in June and have recently followed up with her toward a specific time for September 10th.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Huge news! After mountains of "behind the scenes" work, Senators Feingold and Collins have just introduced a Genocide Prevention resolution on the Senate floor.

While our conflict-specific advocacy work has continued around Sudan and other areas of concern, our team has been working for months to secure bi-partisan co-sponsorship for this resolution. It's a crucial first step in our efforts to create long-term structural change in the United States's ability to prevent and stop genocide - next month, expect to see a bill in the house.

Take a moment to celebrate this moment - thank you for everything you have done to move the ball forward on this issue.

Stay tuned for more.

- - -

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) submitted the following concur- rent resolution;

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Recognizing the United States national interest in helping to prevent and mitigate acts of genocide and other mass atrocities against civilians, and supporting and encour- aging efforts to develop a whole of government approach to prevent and mitigate such acts.

Whereas, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, the international community vowed ‘‘never again’’ to allow systematic killings on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, race, or reli- gion;

Whereas a number of other genocides and mass atrocities have occurred, both prior to and since that time; Whereas the United States Government has undertaken many initiatives to ensure that victims of genocide and mass atrocities are not forgotten, and as a leader in the international community, the United States has committed to work with international partners to prevent genocide and mass atrocities and to help protect civilian populations at risk of such;

Whereas the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948, which declares genocide, whether committed in a time of peace or in a time of war, a crime under international law, and declares that the parties to the Convention will undertake to prevent and to punish that crime;

Whereas the United States was the first nation to sign the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and the Senate voted to ratify the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide on February 11, 1986;

Whereas the Act entitled, ‘‘An Act to establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Council’’, approved October 7, 1980 (Public Law 96–388) established the United States Holocaust Memorial Council to commemorate the Holocaust, establish a memorial museum to the victims, and develop a committee to stimulate worldwide action to prevent or stop future genocides;

Whereas the passage of the Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987 (Public Law 100–606), also known as the Proxmire Act, made genocide a crime under United States law;

Whereas, in response to lessons learned from Rwanda and Bosnia, President William J. Clinton established a genocide and mass atrocities early warning system by establishing an Atrocities Prevention Interagency Working Group, chaired by an Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues from 1998 to 2000;

Whereas, in 2005, the United States and all other members of the United Nations agreed that the international community has ‘‘a responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian andother peaceful means, in accordance with Chapter VI and VIII of the United Nations Charter, to help protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity,’’ and to take direct action if national authorities are un- willing or unable to protect their populations;

Whereas the 2006 National Security Strategy of the United States stated, ‘‘The world needs to start honoring a principle that many believe has lost its force in parts of the international community in recent years: genocide must not be tolerated. It is a moral imperative that states take action to prevent and punish genocide.. . . We must refine United States Government efforts—economic, diplomatic, and law-enforcement—so that they target those individuals responsible for genocide and not the innocent citizens they rule.’’;

Whereas the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the United States Institute of Peace convened a Genocide Prevention Task Force, co-chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, to explore how the United States Government could better respond to threats of genocide and mass atrocities;

Whereas the final report of the Genocide Prevention Task Force, released in December 2008, concluded that the lack of an overarching policy framework or a standing interagency process, as well as insufficient and uncoordinated institutional capacities, undermines the ability of the United States Government to help prevent genocide or mass killings and offered recommendations for creating a government wide strategy;

Whereas the former Director of National Intelligence, in his annual threat assessment to Congress in February 2010, highlighted countries at risk of genocide and mass atrocities and stated, ‘‘Within the past 3 years, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan all suffered mass killing episodes through violence starvation, or death in prison camps. . .Looking ahead over the next 5 years, a number of countries in Africa and Asia are at significant risk for a new outbreak of mass killing.’’;

Whereas the Quadrennial Defense Review, released in February 2010, states that the Defense Department should be prepared to provide the President with options for ‘‘preventing human suffering due to mass atrocities or large-scale natural disasters abroad’’;

Whereas the 2010 National Security Strategy notes, ‘‘The United States is committed to working with our allies, and to strengthening our own internal capabilities, in order to ensure that the United States and the international community are proactively engaged in a strategic effort to prevent mass atrocities and genocide. In the event that prevention fails, the United States will work both multilaterally and bilaterally to mobilize diplomatic, humanitarian, financial, and – in certain instances – military means to prevent and respond to genocide and mass atrocities.’’;

Whereas genocide and mass atrocities often result from and contribute to instability and conflict, which can cross borders and exacerbate threats to international security and the national security of the United States;

Whereas the failure to prevent genocide and mass atrocities can lead to significant costs resulting from regional instability, refugee flows, peacekeeping, economic loss, and the challenges of post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation; and

Whereas United States leadership and actions toward preventing and mitigating future genocides and mass atrocities can save human lives and help foster beneficial global partnerships:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives (concurring), That the Senate—

(1) recommits to honor the memory of the victims of the Holocaust as well as the victims of all past genocides and mass atrocities;

(2) affirms that it is in the national interest and aligned with the values of the United States to work vigorously with international partners to prevent and mitigate future genocides and mass atrocities;

(3) supports efforts made thus far by the President, the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of National Intelligence to improve the capacity of the United States Government to anticipate, prevent, and address genocide and mass atrocities, including the establishment of an interagency policy committee and a National Security Council position dedicated to the prevention of genocide and other mass atrocities;

(4) urges the President—

(A) to direct relevant departments and agencies of the United States Government to review and evaluate existing capacities for anticipating, preventing, and responding to genocide and other mass atrocities, and to determine specific steps to coordinate and enhance those capacities; and

(B) to develop and communicate a whole of government approach and policy to anticipate, prevent, and mitigate acts of genocide and other mass atrocities;

(5) urges the Secretary of State, working closely with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development—

(A) to ensure that all relevant officers of the Foreign Service and particularly those deploying to areas undergoing significant conflict or considered to be at risk of significant conflict, genocide, and other mass atrocities receive appropriate advanced training in early warning and conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution;

(B) to determine appropriate leadership, structure, programs, and mechanisms within the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development that can enhance efforts to prevent genocide and other mass atrocities; and

(C) to include relevant recommendations for enhancing civilian capacities to help prevent and mitigate genocide and mass atrocities in the upcoming Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review;

(6) urges the Secretary of the Treasury, working in consultation with the Secretary of State, to review how sanctions and other financial tools could be used against state and commercial actors found to be directly supporting or enabling genocides and mass atrocities;

(7) recognizes the importance of flexible contingency crisis funding to enable United States civilian agencies to respond quickly to help prevent and mitigate crises that could lead to significant armed conflict, genocide, and other mass atrocities;

8) urges the Secretary of Defense to conduct an analysis of the doctrine, organization, training, material, leadership, personnel, and facilities required to prevent and respond to genocide and mass atrocities;

(9) encourages the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense to work with the relevant congressional committees to ensure that a priority goal of all United States security assistance and training is to support legitimate, accountable security forces committed to upholding the sovereign responsibility to protect civilian populations from violence, especially genocide and other mass atrocities;

(10) supports efforts by the United States Government to provide logistical, communications, and intelligence support, as appropriate, to assist multilateral diplomatic efforts and peace operations in preventing mass atrocities and protecting civilians;

(11) calls on other members of the international community to increase their support for multilateral diplomatic efforts and peace operations to more effectively prevent mass atrocities and protect civilians;

(12) encourages the Secretary of State to work closely with regional and international organizations, the United Nations Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide, and civil society experts to develop and expand multilateral mechanisms for early warning, information sharing, and rapid response diplomacy for the prevention of genocide and other mass atrocities; and

(13) commits to calling attention to areas at risk of genocide and other mass atrocities and ensuring that the United States Government has the tools and resources to enable its efforts to prevent genocide and mass atrocities.